Safeguarding Policy

ABDUL MAGEED EDUCATIONAL TRUST

A registered charity in England and Wales (number 1192825)

Last reviewed on 26 June 2024
Next review date 26 June 2026

1. About this policy
1.1. The Abdul Mageed Educational Trust (“AMET” or “the Charity”) has a duty to ensure that it makes arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and to protect adults at risk from abuse or the risk of abuse.
1.2. The activities carried out by AMET, which includes running and facilitating workshops, means that the AMET Representatives may come into contact with people who are at potential risk of harm, including children and adults who may be considered to be vulnerable.
1.3. This policy sets out AMET’s safeguarding policy and procedures.
2. Policy Statement
2.1. AMET is committed to safeguarding the children and vulnerable adults who use the charity’s services and participate in its activities. In particular:
• All AMET Representatives who come into contact with children or vulnerable adults will be clear about their safeguarding responsibilities and how to respond to concerns appropriately;
• All concerns or suspicions of a safeguarding nature will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately;
• All children and vulnerable adults be treated with equal priority regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation as described in AMET’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion policy.
3. Definitions
3.1 The following definitions are used in this policy:
• child/children – means someone who is below the age of 18
• vulnerable adult – means someone aged 18 or over who is, or may be, unable to take care of themselves or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation. This can be due to many reasons, including old age, illness, or mental/physical disability. Any adult can move into a vulnerable state because of a specific situation or circumstance.
• abuse – means a form of maltreatment, harm, or neglect. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child or vulnerable adult by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. The abuse can vary from treating someone with disrespect in a
way that significantly affects the person’s quality of life, to causing actual physical or emotional suffering. Abuse can occur in a family or in an institutional or a community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or by another child. Appendix 1 lists some of the signs of possible harm or abuse.
• AMET Representative – may include trustees, volunteers, clients, and all
classification of workers including, fulltime and part time employees,
contractors, consultants, agency staff, secondees, students and those on work experience who work dir. tly with children or vulnerable adults or are involved in a child protection concern.
• Designated Safeguarding” ead – Naglaa Sadik Ahmed Mustafa is the
Designated Safeguarding Lead. Contact details are Email:
naglaa sadik09@yahoo.co.uk. Mobile: 07309729920. If Naglaa Sadik Ahmed Mustafa is not available or a referral to her is inappropriate, the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Laila EIHimyary. Contact details are Email: La la.nava,d@hotmaiLco.Jk’. Mobile: 07392298094
• Safeguarding – means taking action to protect the health, wellbeing and human rights of children and vulnerable adults, enabling them to live free from abuse.
4. Role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
4.1. The Designated Safeguarding Lead is responsible for leading on all matters relating to safeguarding at the Charity. This includes:
• updating this policy and all relevant procedures which support this policy;
• training AMET Representatives on their safeguarding obligations and
responsibilities under this policy;
• taking the lead on any child or vulnerable adult safeguarding concerns, including liaising with the relevant local authorities;
• regularly reporting to the board of trustees on matters arising under this policy; and
• undertaking training and sharing knowledge on best practice and any changes to legislation.
5. Responsibilities and accountability
5.1. All AMET Representatives must familiarise themselves with this policy and any other guidance in relation to safeguarding issued by the Charity. AMET will provide the necessary support and training to ensure understanding and compliance. Such training will:
• be compulsory;
• given as part of an induction for new AMET Representatives and carried out periodically; and
• include attendance recorded by the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
5.2 Before delivering any activity that involves children or vulnerable adults, the person responsible for the activity must undertake an assessment of any safeguarding risks
and put in place appropriate controls to eliminate the risk.
This includes:
• obtaining written consent from parents where a child is undertaking an activity and collecting informa4 on to keep the child safe and relevant emergency contact details for the parents;
• sharing with parents or vulnerable adults this policy; and
• ensuring AMET representatives are clear on their roles and responsibilities and what to do if they are concerned about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult.
5.3 AMET Representatives must treat children and vulnerable adults with respect and dignity, listening and valuing their input, and adjusting where necessary to support inclusion and accessibility.
5.4 All reasonable steps should be taken to ensure AMET Representatives do not have unsupervised access to a child or vulnerable adult. For the avoidance of doubt, this principle also applies to any AMET Representative who has contact with another AMET Representative who is themselves a child or vulnerable adult.
5.5 AMET Representatives should be vigilant and alert to signs of abuse.
5.6 AMET Representatives must report any safeguarding concerns as set out in this policy.
5.7 This policy should be made available to AMET’s beneficiaries, their families, or carers.
6. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
6.1 AMET will undertake basic DBS checks for all Charity’s trustees and volunteers as part of the recruitment and reference process.
6.2 As of the review date, AMET does not undertake “regulated activities” within the meaning of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 relating to children or vulnerable adults. The Charity will review this whenever it undertakes a new activity and will ensure it complies with its legal obligations under the Safeguarding and Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.
7. Raising Concerns
7.1. If the situation is urgent or immediately dangerous contact the police on 999 or the local police, and then inform the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
7.2. In all other cases, AMIT Representatives should report any concerns regarding a child or vulnerable adult to the Designated Safeguarding Lead within 24 hours. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will, if appropriate, inform the Local Authority Safeguarding Duty Officer for children or adults as set out in Appendix 2.
7.3. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will record the following information:
• The child or vulnerabl adult’s name, age, and date of birth
• The child or vulnerable adult’s home address and telephone number
• What was said or seen, and by whom
• Date, time, and location
• All records should be signed and dated and include the contact details for the referrer.
7.4. Confidentiality must be maintained and information relating to individual children,
vulnerable adults and their families should only be shared on a strictly need-to-know
basis, in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.
7.5. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will obtain the consent of a parent in relation to a child or a vulnerable person before a referral to the Local Authority Safeguarding Duty officer is made, unless to do so would place the child or vulnerable adult at risk of harm.
8. Legal framework and associated guidance
8.1. This safeguarding policy complies with all relevant UK legislation which seeks to protect children and vulnerable adults, A summary of the legislation and statutory guidance can be found here.
• Children Act 2004
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)
• Charity Commission: Safeguarding and protecting people for charities and trustees
• Charity Commission: Charities: how to protect children and adults at risk
• Working together to safeguard children 2023: statutory guidance.
9. Reviewing and Amending this Policy
9.1 This policy will be reviewed by the Charity Trustees every two years and the date recorded on the front page of the policy. The policy may be reviewed outside of this if required, including any relevant legislation changes, Charity Commission recommendations or any other significant change or event.
This policy was last reviewed on 26 June 2024
Signed.
NAGLAA SADIK AHMED MUSTAFA
SECRETARY
ABDUL MAGEED EDUCATIONAL TRUST
Date 13 / 07 / 2024
Appendix 1 – Signs of possible harm or abuse
Signs of physical abuse:
• Any injuries not consistent with the explanation given for them
• Injuries which occur to the body in places which are not normally exposed to falls or games
• Unexplained bruising, marks, or injuries on any part of the body
• Bruises which reflect hand marks or fingertips (from slapping or pinching)
• Cigarette burns
• Bite marks
• Broken bones
• Scalds
• Injuries which have not received medical attention
• Neglect-under nourishment, failure to grow, constant hunger, stealing or gorging food, untreated illnesses, inadequate care
• Repeated urinary infections or unexplained stomach pains
Changes in behaviour which can also indicate physical abuse:
• Fear of parents or carers being approached for an explanation
• Aggressive behaviour or severe temper outbursts
• Flinching when approached or touched
• Reluctance to get changed – for example, wearing long sleeves in hot weather
• Depression
• Withdrawn behaviour
• Running away from home
Signs of emotional abuse:
• A failure to thrive or grow particularly if a child or vulnerable adult puts on weight in other circumstances, e.g., in hospital or away from the care of their parents/carers
• Sudden speech disorders
• Persistent tiredness
• Development delay, either in terms of physical or emotional progress
Changes in behaviour which can also indicate emotional abuse include:
• Obsessions or phobias
• Sudden under-achievement or lack of concentration
• Inappropriate relationships with peers and/or adults
• Being unable to play
• Attention seeking behaviour
• Fear of making mistakes
• Self-harm
• Fear of parents or carers being approached regarding their behaviour
Signs of sexual abuse:
• Pain or itching in the genital/anal area
• Bruising or bleeding near genital/anal areas
• Sexually transmitted disease
• Vaginal discharge or infection
• Stomach pains
• Discomfort when walking or sitting down
• Pregnancy
Changes in behaviour which ca lso indicate sexual abuse include:
• Sudden or unexplained changes in behaviour e.g., becoming withdrawn or aggressive
• Fear of being left with a specific person or group of people
• Having nightmares
• Running away from home
• Sexual knowledge which is beyond their age or developmental level
• Sexual drawings or language
• Bedwetting
• Eating problems such as over-eating or anorexia
• Self-harm or mutilation, sometimes leading to suicide attempts
• Saying they have secrets they cannot tell anyone about
• Substance or drug abuse
• Suddenly having unexplained sources of money or expensive gifts
• Not being allowed to have friends (particularly in adolescence)
• Acting in an inappropriate sexually explicit way with adults
Signs of neglect:
• Constant hunger, sometimes stealing food from others
• Constantly dirty or smelly
• Loss of weight or being constantly underweight
• Inappropriate dress for the conditions
Changes in behaviour which can also indicate neglect include:
• Complaining of being tired all the time
• Not requesting medical assistance and/or failing to attend appointments
• Having few friends
• Mentioning being left alone or unsupervised
Appendix2
Westminster Adult Social Services
Email: adultsocialcare@westminster.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7641 2176 (office hours) or 020 7641 6000 (out-of-hours)
Westminster Children’s Services Team
Telephone: 020 7641 6000